Last Month Today: Disney News for the Month of June

1. ESPN losing subscribers – The company continues to lose subscribers as people resort to online streaming.

2.Candidate for Academy Board Of Governors – Ed Catmull, Disney/Pixar Animation President, is candidate for Academy Board of Governors. The governors review candidates for membership in the short films and feature branch, and also debate and approve changes to the Academy Award rules for the shorts and feature animation branch.

3. Beauty and the Beast” now out on Blu-Ray and DVD.

4. Rising Profits Amid Slow Attendance – Attendance at the park in the U.S. fell, but Disney was able to squeeze out gains in revenue and profit. This also shows us that American consumers in 2016 were still willing to open their wallets and spend, a good sign for the economy.

5. Walt Disney World now enforcing FastPass+ restrictions – Effective June 7, Walt Disney World is now strictly enforcing the My Disney Experience terms and conditions, which means that you may only reserve and redeem FastPass+ using valid tickets that are actually used for park admission that same day. Disney is said to be scanning their databases nightly for violations, so if you use an account to redeem reservations without properly entering the park, that user will be locked out of the FastPass+ system.

6. What’s new on Netflix from Disney?! – Now available to watch on Netflix, includes all-new episodes from “Marvel’s Agents of Shield” and “Moana.”

7. Toy Banshee sold out at Pandora – the World of Avatar, the new land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Windtraders, the souvenir shop inside Pandora, the new land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, sold out of the toys in the first week the land was opened.

8. Preferred Parking at Disney Springs – For $10, guests can park in the Grapefruit lot on the West Side near to Cirque du Soleil, or the Lemon lot near to World of Disney in the Marketplace. Disney also offers valet parking at Disney Springs, at a cost of $20 plus gratuity. Valet is located on the West Side near Cirque du Soleil, Town Center near the entrance to the Orange Garage, and the Marketplace in front of Basin.

9. Veterans honored at Disney World’s Flag Retreat Ceremony – Walt Disney World honored a group of Central Florida’s World War II and Vietnam War veterans during a ceremony at Magic Kingdom theme park. The ceremony coincided with the 73rd anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of Normandy.

10. Light Up Cotton Candy taking over Disney Parks – The light-up treat is part of a greater effort to take Disney’s food and drink to the next level.

11. Riders stranded on monorail – Early in June, riders found themselves stuck on one of the monorail trains at Walt Disney World, and had to wait till rescue arrived to help them down.

12. New Fuelrod Kiosks at Walt Disney World Resort hotels – FuelRod kiosks will now also be located inside the arcades at all 3 All-Star Resorts and inside of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. The portable chargers debuted several months ago at Walt Disney World.

13. Walt Disney Company takes full ownership of Disneyland Paris buyout – In order to take full ownership, France’s laws require Disney to own more than 95% of the stock. After offering a buyout to existing shareholders that ended last week, Disney reached 97.08% ownership which will now allow them to take full ownership of the entire resort for the first time in its 25 year history. The remaining shareholders will see their shares automatically redeemed at the price of €2 each.

15. One Year Anniversary Celebration at Shanghai Disney Resort – the resort marked its first anniversary, as floating lanterns representing good fortune for the past, present and future hovered above Shanghai Disneyland during a magical nighttime celebration at Enchanted Storybook Castle.

16. Disney patents tech to throw Captain America’s shield in virtual reality – Disney is developing technology to simulate throwing and catching Captain America’s shield as part of a virtual reality experience, according to a recent patent application. The patent designs show an apparatus that users would fasten to their forearm with a physical shield on a short rail. The shield would slide on the rail when the user made a throwing motion.

17. Dove Cameron teases big changes in Descendants 2 – Dove Cameron recently hinted that lots of changes will be coming in the character she plays, Mal, in the upcoming Descendants 2 film. Descendants 2 will be broadcast simultaneously on five networks: ABC, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Freeform and Lifetime. The soundtrack comes out July 21, the same day the film premieres.

18. Walt Disney World to honor memory of toddler killed by alligator – Lane Graves, who was visiting with his family from Nebraska in June 2016, will be remembered with a structure of a lighthouse that the company will add on its property, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The lighthouse is the symbol of the Lane Thomas Foundation, which was created by Lane’s parents, Melissa and Matt Graves.

19. Mega Makeover announced in Epcot this fall – Rumor has it the overhaul will take five years to complete, which will coincide with the parks 40th anniversary in 2022. By 2021, however, a new E-Ticket (meaning a top-tier ride) ride will be ready for Disney World’s 50th anniversary.

20. Trump to have speaking role in Disney World’s “Hall of Presidents” – the 45th president will record his voice for inclusion in the Magic Kingdom’s popular Hall of Presidents attraction, which is also set to incorporate an animatronic figure of Trump when it reopens in late 2017 after a lengthy refurbishment. Trump’s recording session is scheduled to take place in the near future.

21. Viral “Toy Story “origin tale debunked by Pixar – A viral video explaining the tragic backstory to Pixar’s 1995 hit Toy Story is fake, says Pixar’s Andrew Stanton, who co-wrote all three Toy Story films. The fake story revealed Andy Sr. to have died of Post-Polio Syndrome less than a year before the events of Toy Story, leaving young Andy the key to an old toy box that contained three toys: cowboy doll Woody, the Slinky dog and Mr. Potato Head.

22. Disney accused of stealing ‘Inside Out’ concept in New Lawsuit – Denise Daniels is suing Disney and Pixar, claiming the 2015 animated hit is based on her children’s program called The Moodsters, which she created to help kids better manage their emotions.